Salford City FC

Bespoke headframe sports floodlighting solution.

Manchester: July 2017

Salford City FC are a National League North football team, based in the Salford area of Greater Manchester. With existing lighting degrading and successive promotions necessitating an upgrade in facilities, the club required a new lighting solution. Working with Zerum and Salford City FC, Abacus designed and installed a custom lighting solution to future-proof further on-field progress.

Ideal for sports applications where maintenance of lighting equipment is paramount, four 25m base hinged GL520 masts were installed at the club. Using a hydraulic counterbalance, these base hinged masts can be lowered for quick and hassle-free maintenance to be undertaken at ground level.

With the height of these masts, the raising and lowering capability is ideal for Salford City FC as it allows the club to perform key maintenance procedures without the risks or costs associated with working at height. Not only is safety increased, but the cost and time taken for maintenance and installation are kept to a minimum. Downtime is also reduced, fitting in with the busy season and club scheduling.

The structural design team created a bespoke headframe design based on Salford City’s distinct crest. A first for Abacus, the masts have integrated red LED strips on the front and rear of the headframe, giving it an instantly recognisable appearance as you approach the stadium. Each headframe currently holds eight floodlights, however has the capacity to hold up to 12 for any further league progression resulting in increased lighting level requirements.

In order to meet the lighting requirements as set out for this tier, 32 durable Challenger® 3 floodlights were installed on the headframes. Designed specifically for stadium floodlighting, these floodlights are optically precise with a symmetrical beam for effective lighting distribution and levels. The use of a gun sight to aim the beam via the gun sight fixings incorporated into the floodlight body, gives the installation team accuracy, which in turn enables the lighting scheme to fulfil the specified lighting levels without wasted light. With an integral anti-glare baffle design, light is only distributed where it is required with light overspill contained and glare reduction for both players and spectators. As Salford City FC is an open air stadium located near to Kersal Moor, eight hectares of moorland, the IP66 rated die cast aluminium bodies are ideal in guarding against damage from local wildlife, the surrounding environment and any stray footballs. These durable bodies and toughened front glass protects and lengthens the life span of lamps and electrics inside the fittings, ensuring that the full potential life is achieved.

“Abacus have done a great job, we had a vision to create something unique for the stadium and Abacus made that into a reality. When you drive towards Salford and see the crest in lights, high in the sky, it makes us incredibly proud that this is Salford City’s new stadium”.Gary Neville, Salford City FC

Our solution has seen positive feedback pouring in on social media websites, and means that, Salford City FC now compete under high performance lighting in line with light level specifications.